Necromancer Academy’s Genius Summoner

Chapter 193

Simon and Camibarez passed the crowded fountain plaza and entered a narrow alley.

"I'm so sorry, Simon!"

Camibarez bowed in apologies.

Simon quickly waved his hand dismissively.

"I-I'm fine, really! Besides, it's not like I got hurt."

"Still, I'm sorry. I thought he'd control himself when there's a lot of people watching… I'm so ashamed of him."

She covered her reddened face with her palms. Simon reassured,

"He was just being a little playful. I don't think he meant any harm."

"P-Playful? You almost just died, Simon!"

She said in disbelief.

'Well… if he really meant to kill me, I'd be lying on the ground dead, split down the middle.'

But there was no point in continuing this conversation. Simon pulled a paper bag out of his subspace.

"Would you like an ice-cream bun? I bought them from a stall on the way here."

"What?"

Flustered, Camibarez declined at first, saying now wasn't the time for a snack, but eventually gave in against Simon's enthusiasm.

She took a small bite.

"?!"

Her eyes widened like a rabbit's. Upon taking a second bite, her brow furrowed slightly and her shoulders shook as an incredulous smile formed on her face.

"Ahhh, it's so good!"

Finally, her face lit up.

She held the ice-cream bun with both hands and devoured it. She seemed to like it very much.

'I guess I made it through somehow?'

Simon glanced back. Camibarez didn't seem to notice, but Simon saw Dietrich's eyes flashing from a few feet away.

"Now, shall we go see Rick?"

"Yeah!"

She smiled wide as she smeared ice cream all over her lips while finishing off the bun.

When Simon wordlessly held out a handkerchief and pointed to her lips, she turned red to the nape, took it with both hands, and wiped her lips.

"I'll make sure to wash it and return it to you!"

"Sure."

After enjoying their snack, they walked side by side down a narrow alleyway.

They had a lot to talk about, having spent nearly two months apart. Camibarez chattered with the speed and excitement of bird call while Simon nodded and listened intently.

"I think you're a really good talker!"

At that, Simon raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't really say that much, though."

"It just feels like it! I get nervous in front of other people, but when I'm talking to you, I feel more relaxed and can talk better."

Simon didn't understand it, but it made him feel better.

"Well, we still have three more days to go before school starts, so let's talk a lot."

"Yeah!"

As she said she would before the break, she'd taken Professor Silage's recommendation and gone to an ex-student of his to learn how to control the Ursula's wild blood.

Of course, the Ursula powers were best learned from the Ursula family, but although Camibarez may be a vampire in terms of blood, she was human in terms of her body.

It was a whole new challenge: using the Ursula's blood as a human.

This was something that couldn't be taught by an Ursula, and Silage decided that it was better to learn from a fellow human.

"So, how was Professor Silage's disciple?"

"Oh, you mean the professor? He's a really nice person! I visited him rather abruptly, but he was very kind and considerate, so I settled in quickly."

"That's a relief."

Simon nodded as if to add sincerity to his statement before crossing his arms and stating,

"I thought Professor Silage was going to teach you himself."

"From what I've heard, Professor Silage went on a secret Kizen mission during his holidays, a mission reserved for only the continent's best hemomancer."

It was common for Kizen professors to go on holidays not just to rest but to fulfill their long-overdue missions.

After all, they were professors and professional necromancers at the same time.

"So, Simon, how did you spend your holidays?"

"Me?"

He went to the Holy Federation and fought against Heavenly Blood. Now he could use divinity freely, opening his eyes to a whole new realm known as 'divine undead'.

…But he couldn't really share that.

"I've been doing my homework and helping Father with his territory, so I've been pretty busy with that."

"Lords have a lot on their plates, after all!"

After chatting about this and that, they left Kemmelroad and proceeded onto a busy high street with many shops.

Simon pulled out Rick's letter and looked around.

"Simon, where's Rick?"

"He said he's been in Langerstine since a week ago and started working part-time. I'm pretty sure it's around here… Oh!"

Simon's eyes widened as he scanned the storefront signs.

"This is it! Blue Hobbit."

"That's an unusual name for a store."

"Let's go in."

Ting-aling.

As two opened the door and walked in, their eyes were immediately drawn to the packed shelves.

"Ohh, are y'all here already?"

"Rick!"

Rick, dressed in a casual apron, approached at a brisk pace.

He was wearing the shop's uniform, not the Kizen school uniform.

"Hahaha! Have you guys been doing well?"

Smiling broadly, Rick fistbumped the two of them before clapping his hands together in greeting.

"Right! Now's not the time for this! My shift ends in two hours, so help me out!"

"…Now?"

* * *

* * *

"The big sale starts in ten minutes, so get dressed! My boss says he'll pay you guys as well. Now, come on."

Rick pushed Simon and Camibarez in. They had no choice but to enter the dressing room and get changed into their uniforms.

'I wore it because he made me wear it, but what in the world is going on?'

He still wore the Kizen pants, but he had a striped brown apron on top of them. He also wore a scarf tied like a tie over a gray shirt.

"Simon~"

Camibarez came out of the girl's dressing room shyly. Simon giggled.

'How cute.'

She wore the same outfit as Simon but with larger sleeves, so only her fingertips managed to reach out. The brown apron looked good on her, too.

"Are those the two part-timers who came to help?"

"Yes, sir!"

Rick and a tiny middle-aged man walked over. He glanced at Simon and Camibarez and smiled with satisfaction.

"I'm counting on you two for the sale, please."

"What sale?"

"Roger, sir! This way, guys!"

Rick skillfully guided them.

"Were you guys surprised? My bad. This is a store that sells items that apply the skills of necromancers to household items. I'm here to get ideas and do some market research."

"No need to apologize. But you should've told us if you would make us work like this."

"Haha! Life is full of surprises, after all! Cami, take care of this spot, please. It's the dessert section."

Camibarez awkwardly took up her station.

"All you have to do is rip open a box of these, put them on a paper plate, and tell people to try them. Easy, right?"

"Ah, yes!"

Already nervous, her legs began to tremble. Rick brought Simon across from her.

"You're assigned here!"

Simon blinked. There were racks and racks of clothes.

"Just stay here, get the customers to try on the clothes, and tell them it looks good on them. Easy, right?"

"…I mean, you have to tell me what kind of clothes these are before I can sell them."

"There's waterproof magic and a bunch of other stuff, but you just have to say it looks good on them! Ah, they're coming in!"

The door that Simon and Camibarez entered wasn't the front door. Another door opened, and customers began to pour in.

"You will pay for this."

Said Simon as he adjusted his tie.

A woman in her 40s looked at Simon after scanning the clothes.

"Excuse me…"

"Welcome, ma'am! Would you like to try on the clothes? This product line just came in and it looks great."

Simon was the type to always give his best in everything he did.

Rick gave a small exclamation and a thumbs-up as Simon fluently handled numerous customers.

40% off everything for one hour. A lot of people came in, and the best seller was…

"For you, ma'am, I'd recommend this brand over that one."

"Why so?"

The stern-looking woman crossed her arms.

"Because your skin is light, so you'll look better in these darker shades than in the pastels."

"Ohohoho!"josei

Noble women never stopped flocking around Simon. And Camibarez, on the other side, wasn't far behind.

"C-Come try some strawberry chocolates!"

Camibarez began to pitch the desserts nervously but eagerly.

At first, she lacked any technique to draw in and entertain customers, so she just held out the chocolates and people kept on walking past. However…

"Is this free?"

"Yes!"

A customer picked up one of the chocolates and plopped it in his mouth. Immediately, he exclaimed,

"That's delicious!"

She smiled broadly despite him not having bought anything.

"Thwank you!"

The customer immediately got charmed and bought two boxes.

All of a sudden, people started lining up. Camibarez also began to sell out all her inventory.

"Alright, the event is over!"

The one-hour sale was over quickly. While the other stalls struggled to get people to buy with their high prices, Simon and Camibarez had sold out even their reserve stock.

"Thank you so much. You guys were from Kizen, if I remember correctly? Please, stop by to work next time you're short on pocket money."

The owner smiled broadly and handed them a sprinkle more than the typical wages.

The two returned to the dressing rooms and changed back into their school uniforms. Rick, also having changed, was talking to the owner.

"You're so resourceful. Well, no, I guess today's success wasn't your skills, but thanks to those two."

"No, it's thanks to my skill of having those two as friends."

"Hahaha!"

Simon couldn't help but think that Rick was too shameless. Rick waved at the two as they approached.

"Come on, let's go! We gotta party to celebrate the end of holidays! It's on me today!"

"Wow~"

Camibarez laughed, clapping her hands together. Simon said,

"Now, once Meilyn arrives tomorrow, we'll all be together."

Rick snapped his fingers.

"Ah, right! I've got some new information about Meilyn, and it's going to blow your minds! Follow me."

"New information?"

The three walked out of the store.

* * *

Ting-aling.

The shop door opened, and a huge man in a black cloak walked in. He was so tall that the back of his head almost touched the shop's ceiling, so he had to duck slightly.

The owner ran out.

"Welcome! The sale is over, so you'll have to pay full price if you don't min— Wah!"

The murderous glare in the huge man's eyes made the store owner fall flat on the ground. The rest of the clerks froze as well.

'A v-vampire?'

'Should we call the guards?'

The man took a money pouch from his pocket and dropped it on the floor.

"Bring me all the strawberry chocolate in this shop."

"…What?"

The owner looked up at him with a blank face.

Dietrich solemnly said,

"Strawberry chocolate."

After a moment of stunned silence, unable to comprehend the situation, the owner continued,

"I-I'm sorry, but we're all out of strawberry chocolate! How about some orange chocolate over here?"

At that, the man retrieved his pouch without hesitation and mourned,

"Unless it's strawberry chocolate, I don't need it."

Dietrich stormed out of the store.

A sound of bewilderment finally escaped the owner's lips as he stared at the door swinging closed.

"…Is he crazy?"

——